» Grand Opening of the New Elk Camp Gondola at Snowmass - Sat, December 16 «
A grand opening celebration is planned for Saturday, December 16, when the new Elk Camp Gondola at Snowmass will open for the first time. The gondola will feature 113 new Swiss-made cabins. The eight-passenger gondola will whisk skiers and riders over 1.6 miles from the base of Fanny Hill to the base of Elk Camp in a mere 8.7 minutes. The gondola is part of more than $23 million in capital improvements for the 2006-2007 season.
A ribbon cutting and opening celebration will take place at the base of Fanny Hill at 9:45 a.m. Local government officials, Aspen Skiing Company representatives and Snowmass resident and professional skier Chris Davenport will be on hand for the opening.
“The new Elk Camp Gondola offers ease about the mountain to skiers and riders as it takes them directly to the Elk Camp side of the mountain,” said Steve Sewell, Mountain Manager, Snowmass. “And when our ski school hub, Elk Camp Meadows, opens at the top of the gondola next season, it will be a beginner’s paradise.”
The Elk Camp Gondola offers quick access to the Elk Camp terrain (skier’s right side of Snowmass) at 9,970 feet. The new cabins are manufactured by Poma and painted in “Verkehrsschwarz” - Black with shiny silver aspen leaf logos, similar to the new Silver Queen Gondola cabins on Aspen Mountain.
A mid-station at the top of Assay Hill provides skiers with an additional uploading area. Guests can enjoy spectacular views of the surrounding Elk Mountain Range, delicious food from the Café Suzanne and direct access to the Elk Camp lift.
The Elk Camp Gondola is run completely on renewable energy credits, as is the new Silver Queen Gondola on Aspen Mountain and the rest of Aspen Skiing Company’s lifts and buildings. In June of 2006, Aspen Skiing Company began purchasing renewable energy certificates from wind farms to offset 100 percent of the company’s electricity use.
As well as on-mountain improvements, development is under way on the new Snowmass base village. Guests will soon be able to enjoy a state-of-the-art children’s center, new shops, bars, restaurants, conference space, a Westin hotel, The Little Nell at Snowmass and condominiums - all connected to the upper village by a two-minute gondola ride via the Sky Cab gondola. Next season Elk Camp Meadows will feature a new lift and terrain, allowing beginners to experience an entirely new side of the mountain for the first time.